Month: July 2013

There are a lot of teams that need to decide who will be their QB. If I were the coach of the Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders, New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, Washington Redskins, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, or Buffalo Bills coach, here is who I would pick as my starter for Week 1 (begins September 5th).

Arizona Cardinals

Possible Options: Carson Palmer, Ryan Lindley

Week 1 Starter: Palmer is the obvious choice for this team, as he looked good during the teams OTAs by connecting with his receivers, and should have a monster season thanks to having Larry Fitzgerald and Malcolm Floyd as his top receivers.

Philadelphia Eagles

Possible Options: Matt Barkley, Mike Vick, Dennis Dixon, Nick Foles

Week 1 Starter: This is the toughest choice for any coach, but in the end, former Pac-12 QB Matt Barkley will fit in well to Chip Kelly’s offense due to the fact that at USC, Barkley had played against Kelly’s Oregon squad.

Oakland Raiders

Possible Options: Matt Flynn, Terrell Pryor, Tyler Wilson

Week 1 Starter: Matt Flynn will start Week 1 for the 2nd straight season on a team rebuilding mode.

New York Jets

Possible Options: Mark Sanchez, Greg McElroy, Geno Smith

Week 1 Starter: Geno Smith is the QB that the Jets have wanted for years. He is the franchise of the New York Jets, and this rookie out of West Virginia has the intangible to win as a starter, and he deserves it.

Jacksonville Jaguars:

Possible Options: Blaine Gabbert, Chad Henne

Week 1 Starter: Henne will get the starting job for the 1st time since he was a Miami Dolphin in 2011.

New England Patriots

Possible Options: Tom Brady, Tim Tebow

Week 1 Starter: Tebow can start Week 1, but Brady will start until Week 15, and then Tebow can play Weeks 16 and 17 due to Brady resting for the playoffs. Though from Weeks 2-14, Brady will start, and Tebow could play running back, or be a receiver in the Wildcat formation.

Washington Redskins

Possible Options: Robert Griffin III (RG3), Kirk Cousins

Week 1 Starter: RG3 is the starter, but Cousins will play Weeks 16 and 17. Griffin III may be taken out of the game due to the repaired ACL, so Cousins could get multiple snaps time and time again, but he will not be the starter during many weeks of the season, and Cousins may see more playing time against tougher defenses because of the risk of having Griffin III re-injuring that ACL or other parts of the knee, and the risk of concussions is high. Griffin III is the tentative starter for the 1st half of the season, and would like to keep that, but Cousins will see a few 1st Down or 2nd Down snaps throughout the time when Griffin III will be starting games. Griffin III should have a 5,000-yard passing campaign due to the fact that he has many new targets in Devery Henderson, Jordan Reed, Chris Thompson, Skye Dawson, Chip Reeves, and Emmanuel Ogbuehi. Kirk Cousins could throw for about 1,000-2,000 yards if Shanahan thinks that he should be able to play. With this RG3-Kirk Cousins 1-2 punch, the Redskins could win 12+ games.

Minnesota Vikings

Possible Options: Matt Cassel, Christian Ponder

Week 1 Starter: Matt Cassel wins the job, though Ponder may see some action later in the season.

Cleveland Browns

Possible Options: Jason Campbell, Brandon Weeden

Week 1 Starter: Jason Campbell is a guy that has 1 difference from Weeden. He can throw the ball deep. He is an accurate passer who would mesh well with a speedy receiver like former Dolphins WR Davone Bess.

Miami Dolphins

Possible Options: Matt Moore, Aaron Corp, Ryan Tannehill, Pat Devlin

Week 1 Starter: Tannehill, the talented 2nd year player who will shine in his 2nd season with Mike Wallace and Dustin Keller as his top WRs/TEs.

Buffalo Bills

Possible Options: Kevin Kolb, EJ Manuel

Week 1 Starter: Kolb is the more experienced, but rookie Manuel out of Florida State is the favorite, and will excel as the starter with speedster WR/Slot Receiver Stevie (Steve) Johnson.

The MLB season has featured some surprise teams having 1st or 2nd Wild Card, while teams that were expected to win on a regular basis have had some tough games night after night. The season’s final playoff teams will come down to the 162nd game. Here is how the playoff picture will look going into September and October.

AL

Division Leaders: Tampa Bay Rays, Oakland A’s, Detroit Tigers

Wild Card: Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers

There are some teams that are expected to make it to the Fall Classic (Tigers, Rangers, Rays), and teams that have turned it around from the past few seasons (A’s, Red Sox).

NL

Division Leaders: Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, LA Dodgers

Wild Card: Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Philles

2 usuals (Braves, Cardinals) and teams we have not seen in years (Dodgers, Pirates, Phillies).

There have been great free agent signings so far. Here are the 5 best free agent signings.

The Best

Number 5: Metta World Peace from the Los Angeles Lakers to New York Knicks

World Peace is a player from the LA Lakers who is very energetic on D. The Lakers decided to amnesty World Peace to clear up some cap space after they hit a $29.6 million luxury-tax. He signed a 2-yr, $3.2 million contract.

Number 4: Josh Smith from Atlanta Hawks to Detroit Pistons

Smith brings the wing offense-defense player that the Pistons have wished for years ago. He signed a 4-yr, $54 million deal.

Number 3: Monta Ellis from Milwaukee Bucks to Dallas Mavericks

Ellis is an explosive 2-guard who can play sidekick role to vet Dirk Nowitzki, and he can play point guard to help with their past problem with finding a reliable point since Jason Kidd and JJ Barea left last year due to free agency. He signed a 3-yr, $30 million deal.

Number 2: Andre Iguodala from Denver Nuggets to Golden State Warriors

Iguodala is a explosive offensive force who can give you 20 points or more any game. Going to Golden State means that a Western Conference Finals or NBA Finals appearance is likely. He signed a 4-yr, $48 million contract

Number 1: Dwight Howard from Los Angeles Lakers to the Houston Rockets

Howard, the best center in the league makes life difficult for opposing teams in the process. The expectations are high, as a Western Conference Finals or NBA Finals appearance is expected. He signed a 4-yr, $88 million deal.

LeBron James has just won his 2nd title with the Miami Heat, and rumors say that he wants to get out of Miami. Where should he go? Here are my thoughts.

Cleveland Cavaliers

LeBron should go to Cleveland because he will have a non-injury-prone sidekick in Kyrie Irving, and the Cavs gave Andrew Bynum a small contract to track down James. Though this may lead to many disappointing seasons due to the hatred from Cavs fans, some fans that had once burned their LeBron Cavs jersey will be begging to get it back.

LA Lakers

Kobe Bryant recently said he would want to team up with LeBron, but he does not want a pay-cut from the Lakers. The Lakers hit a huge luxury-tax of $29.6-million. Amnestying Pau Gasol and Steve Blake or Metta World Peace would do great to have room to get LeBron. Also, the Lakers will also track down Carmelo Anthony from the Knicks.

Chicago Bulls

Chicago showed interest when he made his first ‘Decision’, and many thought he would go there. Teaming up would D-Rose would mean that the Windy City will put up many more banners to come, and the once famous block by LeBron on Rose in ’11 will be forgotten forever.

Miami Heat

LeBron said that he wants to stay in Miami for the rest of his career, and he should due to the fact he won both titles. Also, the Heat will try to chase some young and veteran players on the market to be able to convince LeBron to stay.

This year’s Wimbledon sure has been the craziest of all-time (#wimbledon). Rafael Nadal goes down 1st round, and Roger Federer in 2nd, and on the side of the WTA, Victoria Azarenka goes in the 1st round, Caroline Wozniaki in the 2nd, as well as Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams in the round of 16, Ferrer, Kvitova, and Li Na in the quarters. Here is the ATP (Men), and the WTA (Women) draw.

WTA

The WTA draw looks fairly slim in big names. The QuarterFinals will feature Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) and Marion Bartoli (FRA), who should make it to the SemiFinals in their half. The other half will feature Agnieska Radwanska (POL) and Sabine Lisiki (GER), who should fill in the other half. The Final will feature Marion Bartoli and Sabine Lisiki. The result will end with Lisiki winning it all.

ATP

The ATP should be surprising, but an easy road for players like Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. The QuarterFinals winners will be Andy Murray (GBR), Jerzy Jankovics (POL), and Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) and Novak Djokovic (SRB). The Final will feature Djokovic and Murray, and in the end, Andy Murray will be crowned a Wimbledon champ!